Barking Child & Family Health Centre

Located in Barking town centre, the Child & Family Health facility is one of the company’s flagship NHS ‘one stop shop’ projects: an integral part of Barking’s regeneration initiative and the wider Thames Gateway development. Laid out over five levels on a constrained urban site, the building comprises a mix of community health and social care facilities, along with 22 affordable housing units.

Centred on a semi-private courtyard and play area, its key design driver has been achieving a balance between openness and intimacy. The U-shaped plan reconciles a number of complex service, access and user requirements, with facilities branching off a central corridor common to all floors. The result is a stimulating, child-focused environment with easy wayfinding and views out to the townscape. Sustainably designed, the building has a NHS Environmental Assessment Tool (NEAT) rating of Excellent. Public areas present active facades to the street, promoting community ‘ownership’. Private functions are tucked away from the bustle of the civic square.